New York Yankees Closer, Mariano Rivera, Ready for the Seattle Mariners in MLB

New York Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera, is ready to close the Seattle Mariners out in MLB baseball.

With Mariano Rivera earning the 400th save of his career in a pressurized 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox, it is difficult to overstate the importance of a major personal milestone for a premier closer who may be on his way to the Hall of Fame.

The rest of the Seattle Mariners, who will be visiting these Yankees at Yankee Stadium, should be concerned.

This was no cheap save, no statistical happenstance. It concluded what may have been the team's best weekend of the season and it came against the defending World Series champions before 54,781 fans in the Yankee Stadium sunshine.

But Rivera was not the only notable performer as the Yankees won their third consecutive game against the White Sox and the seventh in their past eight over all. He was merely the final and lasting image after entering the game in the eighth inning with a two-run lead, two men on base and nobody out.

After pitching out of that jam, Rivera did the same in the ninth after allowing the first two batters to reach base. In both innings, his fielders turned double plays. Rivera ended the game by striking out Jermaine Dye swinging.

''It's amazing, I never, ever thought about it,'' Rivera said of his career saves total, which trails only Lee Smith (478), Trevor Hoffman (460) and John Franco (424). ''It's good. It's special. It's great, it's great,'' Rivera said.

Rivera smiled as he spoke but seemed to be groping for words, gracious but somewhat uncomfortable in a group interview. He praised God, as he often does, before he carefully folded the dugout scorecard as a souvenir and excused himself.

''Guys, I've got to go to church,'' he said.

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